Absolute rubbish. (Knorr Stock Pots)

Member Name: Darkstar101

Product:	Knorr Stock Pots
Date:	19/10/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dissolve easily

Disadvantages: Far too salty rendering dishes inedible, expensive, a nightmare to open etc

I normally like to cook meals totally from scratch including stocks for casseroles, but last week I was a bit pushed for time so I bought a pack of Knorr Beef Stock Pots in a bid to save time.

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Price and availability
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Priced at £1.44 in Asda for a pack of 8, I felt they were a bit expensive compared to products like Oxo, but I was sucked into buying them by the manufacturers blurb on the side of the packaging and the fact that they are semi-endorsed by Marco Pierre White.

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Manufacturers claims
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The blurb on the packaging reads as follows - "Knorr Stock Pot is a rich, concentrated, premium stock. Knorr chefs have carefully selected meats, herbs and spices that are gently simmered into a concentrated little pot. Stock Pot melts easily into water to produce a full flavoured stock or can be added straight into your dish to bring outs its natural flavour". Sounds quite good doesn't it?

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Packaging
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Inside the cardboard outer packaging, you will find 8 small pots with a thin tear and peel back foil lid - you know the sort which you get on those little pots of UHT milk in supermarket cafes. These are a nightmare to open unless you have vice-like fingertips.

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The product itself
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Upon opening the capsule you are greeted with a gooey jelly like substance which is mid-brown in colour and smells like dog food. I'm not joking. It looks and smells vile. The directions on the side of the cardboard packaging say to dissolve this goo into 500ml of boiling water to make the beef stock. I must admit, it does dissolve very easily in the water but it still looks and smells unpleasant. I added the stock to my casserole and put it in the oven to cook.
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Does it taste nice?
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No. It doesn't. The first thing I noticed when I tasted the casserole was how salty it was. In fact, the only thing I could taste was salt, the flavours of the beef, vegetables and potatoes were completely overwhelmed by this saltiness, so much that I threw the whole dish in the bin along with the other 7 stock pots.
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Nutritional information
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Stock Pots contain no artificial flavour enhancers, artificial preservatives or colours. Each 100ml as prepared contains 5 kcal, 0.1g of protein, 0.2g og Carbohydrate, 0.4g of fat, 0.46g of sodium and 1.14g of salt.

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Conclusion
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These stock pots are expensive, tricky to open, look and smell foul and will overpower the flavours of your dish with salt. In my opinion they are not good value for money because not only do you end up throwing these away but you will have wasted time, money and enegy cooking a dish which is inedible. Avoid them like the plague. In fact if I could give this product minus 5 stars I would have.

Summary: Probably the worst stock making product I've ever bought.